Suu Kyi supporters worldwide mark 65th birthday

From tree planting in Myanmar to a solidarity rally in Washington and flash mobs in Britain, people around the world are holding events to mark the 65th birthday Saturday of Aung San Suu Kyi.Supporters of Myanmar's iconic democracy leader plan to throw a small party for her at one of their houses in northern Yangon, but Suu Kyi won't be there.Instead the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in detention for almost 15 years, is expected to spend a quiet day at her lakeside mansion where she is kept without telephone or Internet access, cut off from the outside world.

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From tree planting in Myanmar to a solidarity rally in Washington and flash mobs in Britain, people around the world are holding events to mark the 65th birthday Saturday of Aung San Suu Kyi.Supporters of Myanmar's iconic democracy leader plan to throw a small party for her at one of their houses in northern Yangon, but Suu Kyi won't be there.Instead the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in detention for almost 15 years, is expected to spend a quiet day at her lakeside mansion where she is kept without telephone or Internet access, cut off from the outside world.

Yangon (AFP) - US President Barack Obama arrived in Yangon on Friday to hold talks with Myanmar's democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, as the nation turns towards next year's elections with uncertainty over the direction of reforms.

Beijing (AFP) - Myanmar's opposition leader and democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi is set to land in China on Wednesday afternoon for a debut visit, at a time of cooling relations between the once closely-bonded nations.

KAWHMU, Burma — The pastel-painted vocational school hacked out of the bamboo jungle is a long way from the international salons where Burma’s symbol of resistance, Aung San Suu Kyi, is now an established figure.
Here in her parliamentary district, a network of poor rice-growing hamlets, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate played local politician: opening a hotel training school that she hopes will catapult talented students out of the fields and into jobs as maids, cooks and butlers in Burma’s booming tourist industry.

Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is on the verge of being freed from house arrest, officials in the military-ruled country said on Friday as anticipation grew among her legions of supporters.Security was stepped up in Yangon, where Suu Kyi remained confined to her crumbling lakeside mansion, with police vehicles patrolling the city.The Nobel Peace Prize winner, locked up for most of the past two decades, is still seen as the biggest threat to the junta, but her freedom appears to be a price it is willing to pay to deflect criticism of recent elections.

Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is on the verge of being freed from house arrest, officials in the military-ruled country said Friday, as anticipation grew among her legions of supporters.Security was stepped up in Yangon, where Suu Kyi remained confined to her crumbling lakeside mansion, with police vehicles patrolling the city.The Nobel Peace Prize winner, locked up for most of the past two decades, is still seen as the biggest threat to the junta, but her freedom appears to be a price it is willing to pay to deflect criticism of elections held on Sunday.

Hollywood star Michelle Yeoh is to play the role of Aung San Suu Kyi in a film about the life of Myanmar's pro-democracy champion, industry sources said Wednesday.Yeoh visited the Nobel Peace Prize winner on Monday and spent the whole afternoon at her crumbling lakeside mansion in Yangon, said Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi.Malaysian-born former Bond girl Yeoh has been shooting scenes with French director Luc Besson in Thailand for the production, titled "Dans La Lumiere", said Wanasiri Morakul, director of the Thailand Film Office.

Hollywood star Michelle Yeoh is to play the role of Aung San Suu Kyi in a film about the life of Myanmar's pro-democracy champion, industry sources said Wednesday.Yeoh visited the Nobel Peace Prize winner on Monday and spent the whole afternoon at her crumbling lakeside mansion in Yangon, said Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi.Malaysian-born former Bond girl Yeoh has been shooting scenes with French director Luc Besson in Thailand for the production, titled "Dans La Lumiere", said Wanasiri Morakul, director of the Thailand Film Office.

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi marks her 65th birthday on Saturday under house arrest as activists hold protests around the globe and world leaders call for the ruling junta to free her.The military regime has kept the Nobel Laureate in detention for almost 15 years and she has been barred from running in upcoming elections that critics have denounced as a sham aimed at entrenching the generals' power.Even so, the woman known in Myanmar simply as "The Lady" remains the most powerful symbol of freedom in a country where the army rules with an iron fist.